


Fingerprints

by rubbishfromAlice



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Briam, Liam Dunbar/Brett Talbot - Freeform, M/M, Soulmate-Identifying Marks
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-07-27
Updated: 2016-02-14
Packaged: 2018-04-11 13:18:02
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 20
Words: 22,238
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4436891
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rubbishfromAlice/pseuds/rubbishfromAlice
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Soulmate au where the fingerprints of your soulmate appear on your skin wherever they first touched you. </p><p>Liam gave up on finding his soulmate when he was 12, he stopped checking his body for any mark or impression, he stopped thinking about them and didn't waste his time on it anymore.<br/>That is until he joins the lacrosse team at Devenford Prep.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Got this prompt off tumblr and totally fell in love!

He had been 9 years old when his mom told him about soulmates. He'd curiously asked her one day as she was making dinner while he sat with a colouring book at the kitchen table.

"Mom, what are those marks on your hand?" He asked, not looking up from his picture.

"Well, it's your fathers fingerprints." She answered patiently. 

"Why are they on your hand?"

"Because he's my soulmate, and the first time we ever met he shook my hand."

"What's a soulmate?" Liam questioned, his attention now focussed on his mother.

"Well," She thought it over for minute, coming to sit down opposite her son. "It's the person you were born to love, and they were born to love you. When you meet that person, they become a part of you, that's what daddy's fingerprints mean." She explained.

"Does everybody have one?" 

"Everybody has one, even you." 

"How do I find them?" Liam asked inquisitively.

"You'll just find each other. No one knows when or how, but you will." And with that she smiled at him and kissed his forehead, before continuing with her cooking. Liam thought about her words for weeks afterwards. He walked into school and shook hands with everyone he saw, even his teachers, and explained to them that he has a soulmate somewhere looking for him too.

But then Liams father died three years later and the marks on his mothers hands disappeared. If he was her soulmate how could he just leave her like that? He thought your soulmate became a part of you, he thought soulmates were forever. That was when he started to get angry. He'd yelled, kicked and screamed for seemingly no reason. He started to throw chairs in class and punch his bedroom walls in fits of rage until his knuckles were bloody and bruised. His mother had taken him to see doctors and psychologists and they all said the same thing;  **Intermittent Explosive Disorder.** He was given medications, anti-psychotics, therapist appointments, everything. 

  
When he was 14 his mom remarried, one of the doctors who had treated Liam when he was younger, helped him control his outburts. Liam liked him, but he still wasn't his dad. He didn't leave fingerprints on his moms hands this time, and she didn't leave any on him, but they were happy together, his mom was smiling and laughing again and that's all Liam cared about. 

But things only got worse when Liam started highschool at Devenford Prep.

 

~~~~~

 

His mom suggested that he join some sort of sports team, something to keep him and active and to help him make friends, it might help him release all that pent up energy. Liam had been in high-school for nearly a month and his parents had yet to meet any friends or hear any stories from his classes. Instead they just got calls from his teachers telling them he needed to work on his attitude.

Liam wasn't too sure about it. He was too short to play basketball and didn't have enough meat on his bones to even try football, but his stepfather was the one who brought him to the park with two old lacrosse sticks and a worn out tennis ball, which would have to work as a substitute for the real thing. Liam had surprised himself at his strong throw quick reflexes, but obviously he would need to work on a few things before even thinking of going out for the team, and he did. He trained every evening and every weekend, either on his own or with his stepfather until he finally felt confident enough to try out for the team.  
Friday afternoon came in an instant, and Liam felt like he was suffocating as he sat on the benches watching everyone warm up. Maybe he wasn't ready yet. He was only a freshmen, why would anyone want the freshmen on their team? He looked around, he was sandwiched in on the bench by two sophmores either side of him. If he got up and left, just went home and kept practising maybe he could try out next season. But his window of opportunity closed when the coach rounded everyone up in the middle of the pitch. 

"Alright everyone listen up. I see some familiar faces and some new faces. What we're looking for today is some good midfielder's and attackers. Today me along with your team captain Brett," He gestured to a tall, muscular junior standing beside him, leaning against a lacrosse stick. "will be judging your catching, your throwing and your overall commitment to being on this team. Is that understood?" There was a general mumble of understanding from the crowd, and with that the coach clapped his hands together and got everyone to form a line behind the captain.   
Liam didn't know what he was doing really. He just ran when he was told to run, passed when he was told to pass and caught when he was told to catch. There was no real method to what he was doing. He knew he could throw and catch so that's what he did, and he just ran when everyone else did. By the time the coach blew his whistle an hour and a half later, Liam felt like his lungs were on fire and his legs were about to buckle beneath him. 

"Good job today, I'm impressed. The list should be up on Monday morning both in the locker room and on the sports notice board, alright? You're dismissed." The coach announced as he gathered all the sticks that had been dropped to the ground in everyones rush to get home. Liam had just slung his gym bag over his shoulder and was making his way across the pitch when a voice called out behind him.

"Dunbar!" He turned and saw Brett jogging towards him with a clipboard in his hand. He stopped in front of Liam and took another glance at the board. "Liam, right?" Liam gave an uncertain nod as he stared at the captain, who seemed to tower at least a foot over him. "You a freshman?" He asked.

"Y-yeah." Liam's voice was quite and soft but he quickly coughed and met Bretts eyes again.

"You ever play lacrosse before?" 

"No, not really, not like that." He shouldn't have said that. Now they're gonna know he has no experience, that he has no idea what he's doing, they'll never want him on the team if they think he's just come rookie kid.

"Seriously? Huh. You're the only freshmen to try out this season. You did good out there." Brett gave him a friendly punch on the arm before walking backwards away from him. "Have a good weekend, kid." And then he turned his back, leaving Liam to stand alone in the middle of the field, slack-jawed.

"Thanks." He muttered to himself, turning on his heel and continuing on his way. What he didn't see was Bretts smirk as he picked up his own gym bag on the other side of the pitch.

"You're welcome."

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone showing this some love! Comments are really appreciated, I love feedback, good or bad!

**Liam Dunbar               Midfielder**

Liam read his name 6 times before taking a step back from the sports notice board. He'd made the team. By some bizarre twist of fate he had made his school's lacrosse team. He got congratulations from his fellow team mates, be it a hand shake or a friendly smack on his back. He felt overwhelmed by the sense of camaraderie, it was a completely new feeling for him. He felt elevated as he walked to his History class that Monday morning, butterflies in his stomach as he thought about the weeks to come. 

 

_Two weeks later_

Liam was exhausted. His legs burned, his back ached and his arms throbbed with every movement. It had only been two weeks since he started training and already he felt like he was ready to fall apart. There was training four days a week with but Brett encouraged them all to hit the gym whenever they had time off. Liam was determined not to falter, not to fall behind the rest of the team, he needed to prove that he was worthy of his spot on the team, that he could handle it. When he wasn't training on the pitch or in the gym, he was down at the park either on his own or with his step dad. It was a well known fact that he was new to the game and everyone probably expected him to fuck up or hold them back, but Liam wouldn't let that happen, even if it meant he passed out at 7pm every night before he'd even gotten changed. 

Their first match of the season was in 5 weeks, Liam had been keeping a calender on his wall, crossing off everyday as it passed. Coach had been riding them hard about staying in shape, eating right and staying focussed. Liam wasn't sure how the others could handle it, the pressure of lacrosse and schoolwork, while also finding time to see friends. Was it because he was younger? Maybe he genuinely wasn't ready to join the team, like age wise? Maybe he would be better next year. He couldn't let those thoughts get to him, that would be what dragged him down. 

He had his first public outburst in mid-September, it was cold and grey and windy and spirits were low. They had been playing a warm up match before training really started. Liam was stationed close to the goal, his lacrosse stick gripped firmly in his hand, focussing on how the match progressed around him. He saw the players running towards him, eager to either score or prevent a goal. Liam tensed, taking a few large strides towards closer to the running players when suddenly there was a heavy weight on his chest and his head was throbbing. There was no way to be sure what happened, all Liam knew was two seniors were sprawled uncomfortably across his torso. They all struggled to break free from one another, Liam pushing at the boys in frustration. When they were finally standing and facing each other Liam ripped his helmet off his head and threw his stick to the ground.

"What the hell was that?!" He yelled at them. He could feel anger boiling in his stomach, heating his entire body.

"Sorry man, the ground was wet and I just slipped, brought Ricky down with me." The boy, Will, explained. He was a junior and had been at tryouts with Liam a few weeks beforehand.

"You good bro?" Ricky asked, taking off his own helmet and running a hand through his hair."

"You nearly broke my rib, asshole." Liam grumbled, taking a step towards the two boys, crowding their space. All polite demeanour's vanished as Liams two team mates met him in the middle, their faces almost touching.

"I said I was sorry, freshmen. Why don't you go cry to your mom about it." The older boy smirked, getting an amused grunt from his friend beside him. It was then Liam snapped. He pushed the boy backwards with surprising force, causing him to stumble backwards and trip over his own feet, landing on his back in the dirt. Liam didn't stop there. Placing his legs on either side of the boys torso, he bent down and swung at his face. His arm stopped in mid air. 

"Back away, Dunbar." The voice was strong and firm, yet patient and calm. Liam looked over his shoulder and saw Brett standing behind him, his hand gripping Liams forearm just beneath his elbow. Liam looked at Brett irritably before wrenching his arm from his grip and stepping away from his team mates. Brett helped Will off the ground before turning back to Liam, who was picking up his helmet and stick from where he'd thrown them to the ground. "Go home, Liam. Get some rest. We all have off days, alright? Just take it easy." Brett gave Liam a reassuring pat on his shoulder and a soft smile before placing his own helmet back on his head and rounding up the rest of the team.   
Liam watched silently for a moment as Brett worked with coach giving out instructions, and then grudgingly walked back towards the changing rooms. 

He showered, scrubbing the dirt from underneath his nails and the back of his neck. He rubbed his faced repeatedly, letting the hot water wash over his body in a soothing waterfall. He could still feel his heart hammering in his chest as he clenched tufts of hair in his fists.  _stupid stupid stupid. How could you be so goddamn stupid?! They're gonna know you're a freak, they'll call you a psycho, you'll be off the team._ Thoughts raced through his head as he stood under the cleansing water, hoping to wash away the memory of what he'd just done. 

_stupid stupid stupid._


	3. Chapter 3

Two days later Liam was having dinner with his parents. His step-dad being home for dinner was rare, so they ate together at the dining room table. Liam was still thinking about his conniption on the pitch the other day, mulling over Bretts words, "We all have off days, alright?", yeah well not everyone's off days result in a fist fight with your team mates. He gripped his fork tightly as he twirled strands of spaghetti around the end. His mother looked over in worry, when she saw it.

"Liam, what happened to your arm?" She asked, reaching forward and tugging at his sleeve which was rolled up to his elbow. Liam pulled away and looked at her quizzically.

"Nothing, why?" He rubbed his hand across his forearm and felt the indentations and ridges beneath his fingertips.

"Let me see-" His mother urged, reaching forward again to grab his arm. Liam pulled away and stood up suddenly. He looked between his parents before hurriedly walking to the stairs, and taking them two at a time as he rushed to his room.

He closed the door behind him and sat on his bed, hoisting his shirt off so as to get a better view of his arm. Just below his elbow on his right arm, were five ovals spaced out across his forearm. Liam looked closely at the marks and saw the thin white ridges and spirals scarring his skin. He traced them with his left hand, running his fingertips across the marks. They weren't too easy to see, they looked like old, faded scars, as if the looping patterns had been etched into his flesh. He covered each one with a finger from his left hand and felt his stomach tighten.

"What?" He whispered to himself, standing and walking over to his mirror, twisting and turning his arm to get a full view. How could this be possible?

He heard a gentle rapping on his door before it opened and his mom stood before him, a knowing look on her face. "Well," she said, walking closer and closing the door behind her.

"Am I allowed see or?" She sat on his bed and looked up at him. Liam wouldn't meet her gaze as he absently ran his hand up and down his arm.

"I-I don't know what happened." He mumbled, taking a cautious step towards his mother, extending his arm towards her for examination. She gently took his arm in her hands and inspected the mysterious new marks. She let out a breathy laugh and smiled warmly at her son.

"Congratulations, Liam." She said, standing and embracing him. Liam didn't see why he was being congratulated. He hadn't done anything. Sure, he got his fingerprints but he didn't know who they belonged to. It could be anyone in school or on the street. Someone could have bumped into him, accidentally grabbed his arm. Why should Liam be congratulated? He'd found his soulmate and then lost them!

"I don't even know who it is. I don't even know how long that's been there." Liam stared down at the taunting imprint, cursing it and himself.

"Liam, you don't honestly think you're the first person to lose their soulmate? Sweetheart, if it was meant to be easy then their name would be scrawled across your forehead." She chuckled and pushed a strand of hair off his face. "Do you know if you've marked them?" Liam thought for a moment before giving a frustrated sigh.

"No of course not! How am I supposed to know?! How is anyone ever supposed to know?!" Liams cheeks flushed red as nails dug into his palms. He took one long stride over to his wall and gave it a forceful punch. There was a crack, and when Liam took his hand away his blood was smeared on the wall while paint chips fell to the floor.

"Liam!" His mother shrieked, rushing to his side and gently wrapping her hands around Liams bloody knuckles. His hands trembled as he took deep breaths. "Liam, don't do that. Please. You'll figure it out, I promise." She gave his knuckles and soothing rub and Liam could feel tears in his eyes. His mother watched him sadly as he took his hand from hers and wiped his eyes. "Run that under some cold water, I'll get the bandages." She said, leaving the room. He listened to her feet as they retreated down the stairs before walking to the bathroom and turning on the cold tap.

He stared at himself in the mirror, inspecting his appearance. His eyes were watery and bloodshot, with dark circles underneath. He grimaced as the cold water hit his stinging skin, and watched as his blood flowed down the drain. _Who would even want him as a soulmate? Some psychotic kid who couldn't control his anger, who was barely passing math and science?_    
He grabbed a hand towel and held it against his broken, bleeding skin. There was swelling all around his middle finger and his hand ached and throbbed as he tried to move his fingers. He didn't think they were broken, he'd broken his fingers before and the pain was so much worse. He sat on the toilet and looked down at his arm again, studying the five stamps permanently etched into his skin. 

His mother returned then with his step-father carrying an ice-pack. He crouched in front of his and slowly took the towel away. He checked over Liams war wound and gave a disappointed sigh. 

"Well, I don't think it's broken, thank God. But I think you may have a fracture. I can put it in a loose bind for now, but I recommend you come into the hospital so I can apply a hematoma block, it'll heal faster." He said, wiping away any dried blood with a wet wipe, before wrapping a loose bandage around Liams hand. "Don't move it too much alright, give it time, take it easy." The words rang through Liams ears and suddenly his stomach dropped.

"What about lacrosse? I have training tomorrow and our first match-" 

"Will have to wait. Any strenuous activity and this will just get worse. I can get you a note for your coach." He stood up and packed away the first aid kit. Liam just stared down at his hand, trying to clench and unclench his fist, but the pain restricted him.

"I can't not train. I've already been benched and I've barely been on the team a month! I can't miss anymore." Liam objected standing and following his step father out of the bathroom and down the stairs.

"Liam, you cannot play with your hand like that. Just explain it to your coach or your captain, they'll understand." Liam was dumbfounded. He couldn't just not go to practice for who knows how many weeks! They'll have him off the team in seconds, coach said they were looking for people who could commit, who would really try, not some kid who just sits on the bench all season because of a stupid fracture. 

"Liam, go upstairs and finish your homework. I'll take you to the hospital tomorrow after school alright?" His mom instructed as she and her husband cleared the dining room table. Reluctantly, Liam trudged back upstairs, his fingertips finding the marks on his arm again as he traced the impressions one by one.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So happy people are enjoying this! Keep sharing your opinions, I love to hear em!

"Brett! Hey, Brett!" Liam called after the junior after school the next day. Brett carried his gym back over one shoulder and walked flanked by members of the lacrosse team on either side, Liam felt pretty intimidated approaching them all. Brett turned and raised his eyebrows at Liam.

"What's up, Dunbar?" Brett asked, his friends coming to a halt beside him, their eyes all trained on Liam. Liam swallowed and looked at them all one by one before he found his voice. 

"Can we-I mean, could I have a word?" Liams cheeks felt hot under the gazes of the team. _Did they have to fucking stare at him like that?_ Obviously everyone remembered Liams outbreak the other day, and they weren't going to let Liam forget about it anytime soon.

"Watch out he doesn't try and knock your teeth out, Brett." One guy smirked, earning a few chuckles from the rest of the crowd. Brett's face didn't change though, he simply nodded and waved his friends off.

"I'll meet you guys in the locker room." He told them, before turning his back on them and focussing on the freshmen in front of him. Liam waited until the team had made their exit before he spoke up.

"I uh-I can't come to training today." Liam cleared his throat and ran a hand through his hair.  _Were his palms sweating?_ "I fractured something in my hand and eh, the doctor said I should just like, chill." Liam grimaced as the words came out of his mouth. He hadn't been told to chill, but that's what he said and that's what Brett heard, and now he looked like a complete douche. 

Brett looked down at Liams bandaged hand and thought for a moment. 

"What happened? I mean, was it the tackle the other day?" Brett crossed his arms over his chest. He didn't seem to be in any rush to get to training, instead he listened to what Liam had to say.

"N-no. It's not. I just had an accident at home last night." He already felt like he was letting Brett and the team down by now being able to play, but he was only making the situation worse with this pathetic excuse. 

"Shit man. Well, how long are you gonna be out? Y'know first game of the season's pretty soon and we'd like to have everyone on the same level y'know?"  _Same level. Shit._  Liam knew the team thought less of him because he was young, he knew they could see his inexperience, he knew they would think of him as some baby they had to teach.   
Liam thought about his answer for a second before responding. 

"I'll be back in a couple of days, before the end of the week." Liam nodded to try and seal the deal. He definitely should not be back before the end of the week, that was a bad thing to say, but he couldn't not play, he needed to show everyone he was ready and capable. 

Brett didn't seem convinced. He raised his eyebrows and gave Liam's hand another look.

"Look man, it's alright okay, don't push it. Back on the field by Monday earliest, see how you do." Brett compromised. Liam gave a grateful sigh and let himself smile up at the captain. 

"Thank's Brett, I'll be there man, 100%." Brett laughed and adjusted his back on his shoulder. Liam made to leave but Brett called after him.

"Dunbar! I get you can't hold a stick or do a push-up, but that doesn't mean you can't run a few laps, sit on the bench and listen to what me and coach have to say, right?" Brett chuckled when he saw Liams face fall. Like, Liam had kinda thought this would mean a break, no practice after school, no gym on weekends, but clearly Brett had other ideas. 

Liam quickly shook his hand and made his way back over to where Brett stood. 

"We'll go easy on you, kid, seeing as you're damaged goods now." Brett gave Liam a firm pat on the shoulder and together they walked to the locker room, where they separated off into their own spaces. Brett joined a few of his friends and made quick work of stripping off his shirt and getting changed into his lacrosse jersey. Liam watched as he laughed easily among his group who admired and respected him, and couldn't help but feel a twinge of jealousy. Brett caught his eye and smiled casually, before returning to his friends. Liam felt his cheeks get hot and slowly began to change into his own jersey.

It was all going smoothly until it came down to tying his trainers. Liams right hand was pretty much useless in this scenario, and his left couldn't quite get the job done. He gave it a few trys, letting out frustrated sighs every now and again. 

"What's the matter Liam, has mommy not taught you now to tie your shoes yet?" A senior named Andy jeered from the other side of the room. The locker room erupted in a chorus of laughs and yells as Liams face began to burn. Liam stood up and stared the guy down, who still had a smug grin playing on his face.

"Nah man, but I'll just ask your mom to show me tonight." To this day, Liam has absolutely no idea why he said that. It was not smart, it was not witty, it was not funny. 'Your mom' jokes died in 2012 yet here Liam was, stood in front of his entire lacrosse team insinuating that he was fucking Andys mother.   
Liam gulped as he watched the shit eating grin vanish off Andys face, only to be replaced with the mother of all scowls. The room was charged with energy at that moment, everyone staring between Liam and Andy. They all knew Liam wasn't one to shy away from confrontation and by the look on Andys face, he wasn't too far off starting something.

Andy raised his arm and pointed a finger at Liam like a condescending parent and was on the verge of saying something when a voice finally cut through the silence.

"Shit, Andy. You just got a 'your mom' dig from a freshmen." The comment was fallowed by a hearty laugh as Brett sat with his legs up against the bench tying his laces. He'd watched the scene unfold silently. Everyone followed in their captains footsteps, letting out smirks and giggles as they gave Andy condolence slaps on the back. One guy even came over and gave Liam a high five, still chuckling to himself.

Andy followed his laughing team mate unenthusiastically out of the locker room, crimson cheeked and quiet. Soon, it was just Brett and Liam left. Liam had returned to the task of trying to tie his laces one handed, until there was a shadow falling across his outstretched leg. Liam looked up and saw Brett standing over him, his helmet tucked under his arm. 

"Need a hand?" He offered, taking a seat beside Liam on the bench. Liam took his hands away from his shoes and put them awkwardly on his lap. He was going to speak, but then Brett was talking again. "You shouldn't listen to them. It's just a bunch of stupid guy jokes. I got the same shit when I was a freshmen, it was my height they had an issue with. I was real tall and scrawny, all limbs y'know?" He finished tying the laces on Liams right shoe and moved onto the left. "But they get over it. Once the first match is over everyone relaxes a little bit, especially if we win. You just have to prove them wrong." He tapped Liams foot when he'd finished and stood up. Liam stood with him and gathered his helmet, leaving his stick behind.

"Thanks Brett." Was all Liam said. He was grateful for Bretts words of encouragement and support, he seemed like the only genuinely nice guy on the team. 

"Let me know if things get out of hand, I'll sort them out." Brett slung an arm over Liam's shoulder and they walked out of the changing room and onto the pitch. Coach called them over the team quickly got to work running laps around the field.


	5. Chapter 5

"Yo Liam, man. What the fuck is that?" A sophmore named Emmett called out that Friday afternoon. They were in the showers after having a particularly gruelling day of training. It was starting to get dark out, and the gentle glow from the evening twilight illuminated the locker room.   
Ever since the incident with Andy, the team had started to look at Liam in a new light. They included him in gym conversation and made the effort to talk to him in the hallways. Finally it felt like some progress was being made.

Liam rinsed the soap off his face and looked over to Emmett. 

"What's what?" He asked, casting a panicked glance around him, causing his team mate to laugh. 

"You're arm bro! What's on your arm?" Liam bashfully covered his right forearm with his hand and let his head fall under the spray of hot water again.

"No fuckin way. Man he's got fingerprints!" Another boy yelled from beside him, making a grab at Liams arm. Liam was too slow and soon his arm was being held up for the entire team to see. "Shit. How'd you get em'?" He asked, taking a closer look at the white marks. Liam pulled away and grabbed his towel, wrapping it around his waist quickly and scuttling to where his clothes hung. 

"Who's are they? Is she in the school?" A voice called after him, but Liam just shook his head as he dried his body. 

"I don't know. They just appeared, I don't know where they came from or whos' they are." He confessed, shrugging on a pair of jogging bottoms. The boys were starting to leave the showers to get changed themselves, but all of them cast curious looks at Liam as they passed him. 

"So you lost her?" 

"Looks that way." Liam pulled on his socks and shoes before picking up his towel and running it over his dripping hair.

"Shit. I never heard of a freshmen getting their prints. The youngest person I met who had them was a junior." Emmett commented in awe. Liam flt uncomfortable with all the attention being focussed on him, especially since he'd made such a fuck up in losing his soulmate. 

"So how're you gonna find them?" Brett spoke up as he left the showers, a towel wrapped low on his hips. He crossed his arms and stared at Liam curiously, making no move to get dressed. Liam shrugged and leaned back on the bench, letting his head rest on the cool bring wall. 

"No idea. Just gonna have to go around touching everybody until some marks show up." He joked with a smirk. Emmett walked over to him and knelt in front of him, baring his arm. 

"Do what you gotta do man." Everyone laughed as Emmett offered himself to be the test subject. With an embarrassed chuckle Liam leaned forward and gripped Emmetts biceps tightly. No one had any idea what to look out for, and the whole situation was incredibly comical, but the team gazed on in curiosity nonetheless. 

"Feel anything?" Liam inquired, lifting his palm slightly to check if anything had appeared. 

"Not a thing. Unlucky, I bet you know how to treat a lady right." Everyone laughed. Emmett stood up and gave a dramatic sigh. "I guess it just wasn't meant to be!" Liam laughed and pulled his t-shirt on over his head. He looked to where Brett had been standing but found he was gone.

As everyone walked out of the locker rooms for tonight, they offered Liam their hands. Liam obliged and shook all 10 players' hands, all of them feigning disappointment when nothing appeared on their skin. Brett was the last to walk beside Liam as they stepped outside into the chilly autumn air. 

"Well go on, I'm happy to help." Brett held his left arm out to Liam, staring down at him with an amused twinkle in his eye. 

"This is so dumb." Liam murmured, but he gripped Brett's wrist anyway and held it there for a few seconds. "Anything?" Liam quizzed. Brett was silent for a moment before pulling his arm away.

"Sorry man, guess you're gonna have to expand your searches beyond the boys locker room." Brett said as he began to walk towards his car. "You need a ride?" Liam shook his head and zipped up his hoodie.

"Nah, I can walk. See you Monday."

"You sure?"

"Yeah, I'm good." He gave Brett a wave and started to pull his tangled earphones out of his bag and got to work at making sense of the labyrinthine wires.

"Have a good weekend." Brett called after him, followed by the slam of his car door. 


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So we really don't know that much about Bretts living situation with the pack or anything so Im just imagining he lives in a house with Satomi and a few stray members of the pack.

**Brett's P.O.V**

Brett woke up that Saturday morning with a long, lazy stretch that pulled his aching muscles and cracked his stiff back. He rubbed his eyes and checked the time on his phone. 9:35. He looked over to the bed on the opposite side of the room and saw his sister sleeping peacefully still. He threw the covers back and gathered everything he needed for his morning shower silently so as not to wake her. 

The water wasn't particularly warm, and judging by the droplets splattered across the shower curtain and the floor, he wasn't the first to be in here.   
He made quick work of scrubbing shampoo through his hair and rinsing it out before taking his time washing his body. He ran his hands across his shoulders, kneading his taut muscles, bringing him sweet relief after a week of intense training. He rotated his neck a few times, listening out for any cracks. He bent and touched his toes too, holding the position for a minute so as the loosen the tenseness in his back. He pulled his right arm behind his neck, letting the stretch burn before repeating the same action with his left. But as he held onto his wrist tightly, he felt something was off. 

Beneath his fingertips the skin was uneven and indented. He let his arm relax and then held it in front of his face. There was no denying what it was. 5 white oval shaped impressions adorned with ridges of spirals.   
The water ran cold almost in sync with Brett's blood. He scrubbed his hand roughly over the marks but to no avail, they were there to stay. 

He shut off the water and stepped out of the shower, wrapping a towel around his waist and striding over to the sink. He gripped either side of the cold ceramic and took several deep breaths.  _How could this happen? How could this happen without him even noticing? Who could it-_ Bretts train of thought stopped suddenly. His heart rate quickened as he thought over what had happened the previous day. 

"Liam." He whispered, coming away from the sink to run a hand through his hair. That fucking freshman who had been running his mouth yesterday about losing his soulmate. Of course Brett had to go and offer him his fucking arm! Of course he turned out to be the kids fucking soulmate! Not only that, but now everyone would know. Everyone would know that it was Liam who gave Brett his prints, and vice versa. 

Brett began to get himself into a small panic as he began pacing around the bathroom.

Should he tell him? Should he call him right now and explain to him what's happened? Or should he wait, let him forget about it and move on, and they can never speak of it again? Option 2 wasn't quite as appealing. 

Brett quickly replaced his towel with his pyjama bottoms and walked back into his bedroom. His sister was awake now, sat upright in bed with a bowl of cereal as she stared scrolling through her phone. 

"Morning." Brett mumbled, paying her little attention as he pulled open the curtains, letting the morning sun pour in. 

"You were up early." She commented, taking another spoonful of breakfast. 

"Wanted a decent shower." He replied before getting to work on making his bed. 

"And?"

"And it wasn't as decent as I'd hoped." His sister chuckled and got out of bed holding her now empty cereal bowl and walking out of the room. Brett sat down on his newly made bed gently and grabbed his phone from the bedside table. He opened his contacts and scrolled through his seemingly endless list of names before finally stopping.

**Liam Dunbar**

He has the number of everyone on the team for emergencies, but there was only a select few he would ever actually call on weekends, especially at shit o'clock on a Saturday morning.  
What would he even say to him?  _'Hey man. Remember you touched me yesterday and we all thought it was funny and we all laughed about it because obviously we're not soulmates and it was all a big joke to make fun of the fact you lost your soulmate? Yeah well thing is we totally are and I have your fingerprints literally in my skin like a fucking brand and I'm totally freaking out and I think we should probably talk.'_ It didn't have a very good ring to it. 

Brett found himself locking and unlocking his phone screen like some sort of nervous tick. He finally let out a long sigh and clicked Liams name, holding the phone to his ear and listening to the phone ring out until finally,

"Hello?"


	7. Chapter 7

His voice sent an electric shock through Bretts body. Everything was different now. Everything made sense. Every one of Liams breaths that filled the silence between them sent a shiver through Bretts body.  _His soulmate._ _  
_

"Liam. Hey, it's uh- it's Brett." Brett clenched his eyes shut as he heard the words leave his mouth. He sounded pathetic. The silence seemed to drag on endlessly before Liam responded.

"Brett! Hey, what's up?" And to that Brett didn't know what to say. Why had he called him in the first place? He didn't honestly think he was gonna tell him they were soulmates over the phone did he?

"Nothing, just-just wondering if you were busy today?" He had no control over what he was saying. He drummed his fingers against his thigh anxiously, his eyes locked on the marks decorating his wrist.

"Eh no, I'm not busy. What did you have in mind?" Relief washed over Brett as he finally brought himself to open his eyes. What did he have in mind? 

"Food?" There was a light chuckle on the other end of the line.

"Food sounds good, just tell me when and where." Brett checked the time, 10:00 am. 

"Uh let's say 2 o'clock. You like tacos?"

 

 

**_Liam's P.O.V_ **

Liam hung up the phone and placed it on the arm of the couch. He had no idea why Brett had called him, of all people, to make lunch plans. Maybe it had something to do with lacrosse? Maybe they were finally letting him go. What if now they just decided to cut their losses while they still had time to get a new player. Brett didn't seem like he was getting ready to kick him off the team. He sounded totally casual, well, at least Liam thought he was being casual.

Liam let out a breathy laugh and adjusted his position. He had his laptop perched on his crossed legs, the wikipedia page for soulmates sat open in front of him. He'd dedicated any spare moment he had to researching soulmates. He'd scrolled through pages of of history and biology, he even read peoples wildly romantic stories of how they had found their soulmates against all odds. He saw pictures of other peoples marks in various places and even watched a time-lapse videos of the fingerprints appearing on someones skin. He felt like an expert on the subject. The only thing he didn't know was how to actually find his soulmate.

He closed his laptop and set it down beside him, stretching his arms above his head and listening to his back crack. He picked up a glass which had previously been filled with orange juice and brought it into the kitchen where his mother stood at the counter, her phone in her hands and her thumbs moving a million miles a minute. She looked at him briefly before looking back down at her screen.

"Hun, I'm going to your aunt Jenny's today, alright? She's in a fit because her boss has sent her a dozen files to go through and re-type by this evening, absolute nightmare. I said I'd go over and lend a hand. I'll be back tonight, there's money under the kettle for dinner, Todd is working late as per usual so there should be enough there and uh what else eh." She was breathless as she pulled on a pair of sneakers. Liam felt exhausted just looking at her.

"I'm actually going out today, getting some lunch with a friend." 

"Oh, eh, do you need money?" She began rooting through her purse quickly, but came up short. "Sweetie, I only have a 10 and I need it for gas uhm, you can take that money under the kettle I suppose, and just pick something up while you're out okay?" She seemed apologetic as she threw her purse back in her bag and swung it over her shoulder.

"It's fine, I'll figure something out." Liam assured her. She came over and placed a kiss on his forehead before dashing towards the front door. 

"Make sure you get your homework done!" She called over her shoulder as an afterthought before the front door slammed behind her. The silence of the house was deafening as Liam sat at the kitchen counter picking at the frayed edges of his sleeves.

He began to walk around the kitchen absently. He checked under the kettle and saw a 20 dollar bill folded nearly underneath. He then made his way back into the living room where he grabbed his phone and went into his messages.

**To: _Brett T  
_**

**_Hey man. I have a free house nd like no money. Wanna come over nd order sum take-out?_ **

The reply came back 10 minutes later.

**From: _Brett T_**

**_Gimme an hour?_ **

Liam smiled to himself and sent Brett his address. He hadn't had anyone over to his house since he was a kid, long before his died got sick. Should he clean? Would Brett care? Should he bring his playsation down to the living room, or could they just stay in his bedroom? The thought of Brett being in his room, sat on his too-small bed with his too-large body, it made Liam feel sick. What was he doing? He's a 15 year old kid inviting a, what, 16, 17 year old to his house?   
He would definitely need to clean.

 

 


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The love this story has gotten is so unbelievable! Over 1800 views and 130 kudos'! I'm so happy people are enjoying it and as always please let me know what you think in the comments :) Thanks to everyone for reading!

Four gentle raps echoed through the house at 11:15 am. Liam nearly tripped down the last few stairs in his haste to get to the door. When he opened it he saw Brett standing there in dark navy jeans and a grey knit sweater. He gave Liam and friendly smile. Liam stepped back and let Brett cross the threshold, having to dip his head slightly as he walked beneath the door frame.

"Hey man." Brett greeted, extending his hand and pulling Liam into a bro-hug. 

"What's up?" Liam closed the door and faced Brett, who was standing somewhat awkwardly, his eyes scanning the foyer of the house. Brett shrugged and let out a laugh. The hallway was cramped as they stood side by side, so Liam moved to direct Brett towards the stairs. Brett kept his head ducked as they ascended the winding staircase, careful not to knock his head on the low ceiling. 

"Your house isn't very accommodating to someone over 6 ft is it?" Brett joked from behind Liam. Liam turned and looked at him over his shoulder as he opened the door to his room.

"Me and my mom are pretty small I guess." Liam tried to keep the nervousness out of his voice as he stepped into his bedroom. He'd picked up all his discarded clothes from the floor and disposed of them in either his wardrobe or the laundry basket. His bed was made and the clutter had been arranged into a somewhat presentable manner. 

Brett stepped around Liam and sat on the edge of his bed, looking from object to object. Liam remained standing, his cheeked reddening as he felt Brett judging his room. He hoped he hadn't forgotten to tidy away something embarrassing, something that could reveal some sort of incriminating secret, but Liam soon realised he wasn't nearly interesting enough to have any such secret. 

"You surf?" Bretts voice made Liam jump. He followed the older boys gaze to the corner where a surf board stood neatly tucked away. Liam walked and sat beside Brett.

"I used to. We lived by the coast when I was younger, so it was all anybody really did. After we moved here it was too much of a hassle to get down there." Liam explained, staring at the old board. 

"Were you any good?" Brett was looking at him now, and suddenly Liam felt like they were too close. He shifted slightly and leaned sideways away from Bretts stare.

"As good as any 13 year old could be." They both laughed and any tension seemed to dissipate.

"So why'd you move here?" Brett asked curiously. Liam focussed his gaze on the surf board again, doing anything to avoid Bretts questioning stare.

"My step-dad got offered a better job in the hospital."  Brett nodded silently and looked away. Liam was desperate to keep the conversation going, anything to cut through that awkward silence. 

"What about you, you always lived here?" Brett pressed his lips together and shifted backwards on the bed until his back was resting against the headrest.

"Most of my life yeah. Me and my sister were moved here after our parents died." Brett didn't look at him, instead his gaze was focussed on the pile of shoes beside the door. Liam closed his eyes and moved to sit in the middle of the bed, his legs crossed. Brett had been here 5 minutes and already Liam had made him bring up his dead parents. 

"Brett, I'm sorry. I didn't know." Liam mumbled, looking apologetically at Brett. Brett smiled at him and shook his head.

"It's okay, man."

"How did they-" Liam didn't finish the sentence, just looked at Brett and hoped he wouldn't get too upset.

"House fire. Total fluke. The kinda thing you never think will happen to you, y'know? My sister was only 10, so when it happened my first priority was to just get her out of there. But it spread real fast and I couldn't get back inside and my parents couldn't get out." The story broke Liams heart in half. He met Bretts gaze and just looked at him. He looked at the boy who saved his sisters life. He looked at the boy who had watched as his house burn around his parents, completely helpless. And he looked at the boy who after all that, still managed to smile and laugh and live. 

"My dad's dead." Liam blurted out. He began to fiddle with his duvet cover, feeling embarrassed. 

"How?" 

"Pancreatic cancer. I was 10 when he got it. They gave him a year and he lasted 2, but it was really bad, as bad as it could be. He got really thin and his skin went all yellow. He was in a lot of pain too, by the end he could barely move." Liam was rambling, and with every syllable  that passed his lips his stomach clenched more and more. _Why was he saying all this? It's not like it's a competition to see who's parent had the worst death._

Liam took a deep breath and finally looked back at Brett and god, he looked so fucking sad and it killed Liam to think that he'd done that, that he'd wiped his smile off his face. He ran a hand though his hair and cleared his throat.

"But it's okay now. My mom married Todd, and he's a really good guy. He's the one who got me into lacrosse." Liam explained, his tone lightening as he watched Brett's eyes brighten just a little more.

"Oh yeah? Well I'll have to thank him for that one day." Brett smiled at Liam so warmly that Liam felt his blood turn to liquid gold, and his mouth pulled up into a grin without even noticing. Liam let himself smile and feel happy, because he had a friend who was so bright he was like the sun walking among man and it filled Liam with so much warmth, he felt like summer could be eternal.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dont worry! The next chapter will be a continuation of this moment !


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Do comment and share your thoughts and your opinions, I love hearing from everyone!

**Brett's P.O.V**

Brett had been at Liams house for hours, simply enjoying each others company. They talked. They talked about Liams life by the coast, they talked about Bretts family life before the fire and his new adoptive family, they talked about lacrosse and the game they had coming up, Brett even offered to go to the gym with Liam sometime to make sure he was doing the workouts he needs. They played video games, Liam proving to be significantly better at both Call of Duty and Grand Theft Auto. Liam introduced Brett to Game of Thrones and Mad Men, and said he could log into his Netflix whenever so he could keep watching them. 

Brett was surprised by how well their personalities mingled. He had been worried that since Liam was younger he would be immature or annoying, but he wasn't, not even a little bit. He knew how to make Brett laugh, and Brett knew how to make him laugh. He knew how to speak about sensitive subjects like family, or how to have a formal discussion about the good and bad aspects of the education system. They spoke gently about Liam's anger, and Brett listened as Liam warned him that sometimes he can't control his outbursts, and it's something he works on. Liam told Brett how he hoped one day he wouldn't be controlled by his condition.  
He could talk about the future with such emotion and passion, yet was withdrawn and quiet about the past. Brett could see hope and adventure in his eyes, and wanted desperately to share in his plans, to be a figure in Liams life 10 years from now. 

As the topic of conversation drifted onto the subject Brett had dreading, he knew he had to say something. He was here for a reason. But all he wanted to do was relish in this normality with a boy who was now his friend and confidante. 

"I've done a lot of research online about it but there's no concrete answer about how to find your soulmate. They say the connection is almost instant, and if you both have the marks you'll just come together." Liam gave a sigh as he lay on his bed staring at the ceiling, his fingers drumming against his abdomen absently. Brett stared down at him from his place beside him. He watched as Liam bit his lip while his brows furrowed together in concentration. It was upsetting to watch. Liam thought he had failed at the one thing all humans are born to do, and he blamed himself so viciously it made Bretts stomach twist. He had to tell him. 

"Liam." He whispered, looking down at the younger boys face. He didn't know what would happened between them, if they would ever have this again, but if everything did change at least Brett would always have now. He would have the memory of this kid with a heart of gold and a mind to match, talking to him about anything and everything like they were long lost friends catching up on the times they spent without each other. 

"Mm?" Liam grunted, his eyes slipping closed. Brett took a breath to steady the shivers radiating through his body.

"Remember the other day in the locker room? We were all joking about the whole soulmate thing?" Liam gave a quick sound of recollection before Brett continued. "Do you remember you touched my arm? Nothing happened and we both just went home and that was that. But-but.." The words were getting stuck in his throat like a stammer and Brett closed his mouth for a minute to gather his thoughts.   
Liam opened his eyes and craned his neck to look up at Brett, his lips parted a little bit. Brett could hear every breath passing his lips, could hear his heartbeat quicken ever so slightly. He said nothing, but waited patiently for Brett to continue. Instead of talking, pushed the sleeve of his sweater up to his elbow and held is wrist in front of Liams face. 

Brett counted every breath and every heartbeat that filled the seemingly endless silence between them before Liam sat up and gently took Bretts wrist in his hands. Liam let his right hand wrap around Bretts left wrist and watched as his fingertips lined up perfectly with the five oval imprints adorning Bretts arm.   
  


They were so quiet together. 

Brett stared at the Liams hands as they held his arm so gently, as if he would break. He could see his own fingerprints branded on Liams arm, and so he reached forward and touched him, replicating Liams own movements as he held onto Liams forearm. His fingertips sat perfectly against the white marks.   
  


Brett finally looked at Liams face and it was like seeing him for the first time. This wasn't Liam Dunbar,  freshman and midfielder for Devenford Prep Lacrosse Team.   
This was Liam. The boy who watched his father wither away to nothing right before his eyes. The boy who feels weighed down by a condition he can't control. The boy who thought he wasn't good enough for his soulmate. The boy who is trying so hard to prove to everyone that he's worth something.

 And whether he liked it or not, he was Bretts and Brett was his.

 

**Liams P.OV**

Liam could feel himself start to shake slightly as he looked at Brett, feeling his hand wrapped around his arm, sending rays of light coursing through his veins. His soulmate had been right in front of him this whole time. His friend, his team mate, his captain. The guy who saw something in him at that first day of tryouts and never stopped seeing him, not on the field, not in the locker rooms or in the halls. Brett had been the friendly face when he was surrounded by oppositions.

On that day, the day when everything started, the day Brett had been there to catch Liam both literally and figuratively. When he grabbed Liams arm he was unknowingly claiming him. The lost had been found. And Liam had been stupid and lost him again. Convinced he was to love unnaturally forever, to hold and to be held by someone who had no claim to him, who had no mark of true love for him. He would have to watch one day when he was old and heavy with decay, the marks on his arm fade to nothing and know that the person he had been put on the earth to love was gone. 

But that was different now. He had found his missing piece. He wouldn't be alone because he had Brett. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Quick note; I was contemplating throwing in some sort of "oh he never knew he liked guys until he met Brett" etc etc but I felt that would definitely cheapen the moment. I dont think anything like that is necessary, whether the boys are gay or bisexual or whatever shouldn't really matter, all that matters is they're soulmates and whatever happens happens. :)   
> Do comment and share your thoughts and your opinions, I love hearing from everyone!


	10. Chapter 10

It was a surreal feeling sitting beside the person you were destined to love, to see a permanent part of yourself marked on their skin.

 

When it started to get dark and the sound of raindrops filled the silence between their words, they ordered pizza, because that's what you do with your soulmate. Liam learned that Brett hated onions and mushrooms, and Brett learned that Liam is allergic to peppers, so they settled on chicken, ham, corn and extra cheese.

They sat on Liams bed watching reruns of The Office, their laughs muffled by the pizza in their mouth. Liam decided he would never be more content than he was at that very moment. 

Liam had announced he was finished by groaning and flopping onto his back, pushing the almost empty pizza box away with his foot. He covered his face with his arms and let his sleepiness take over as his eyes drooped. He couldn't remember a time he had felt so full before in his life.   
He heard Brett reach for one of the 3 remaining pizza slices and thought  _How could someone in such good shape eat like a starved animal._ He peeked through the gap between his arms and just watched as Brett chewed happily on what must have been his tenth slice. His eyes twinkled as the reflection of the tv played against his pupils. He had sauce in the corner of his mouth, but before Liam could even tell him, his tongue flicked out and wiped in clean. Liam squeezed his eyes shut again and tried to erase that image from his head. 

"You okay?" Bretts voice startled him. He sat up slowly, careful not to disturb his full stomach too much. 

"I feel like I'm about to turn into a giant pizza slice." Liam muttered, rubbing a hand over his face. Brett smiled at him and threw his leftover crust into the pizza box before closing it and placing it on the floor.

"Aren't teenage boys supposed to be able to eat like, double their weight?" Brett joked. Liam shrugged and lay back down, sleep was threatening to take him again. 

"Probably." Liam yawned. It was silent for a minute before Brett said

"Well, you're only small, you can't weigh that much." Liams eyes snapped open and he raised an eyebrow at the older boy who was looking down at him. Brett shrugged unapologetically and gave Liam a mischievous grin. 

"I weigh enough to tackle a burly lacrosse player to the ground." Liam countered, coming to rest on his elbows again.

"Oh yeah when you caught him off guard!" Brett snorted, his eyes still twinkling. That was when Liam acted. As quick as anything he had pushed Brett onto his stomach and sat heavily onto his lower back. Bretts laughter sent vibrations through Liams body. He began to chuckle as Brett helplessly tried to buck upwards in an attempt to dismount Liam. 

"Sorry, how much do I weigh? I couldn't hear you with your face smashed into my pillow." Brett gave another hopeless jolt before sighing and letting his head fall to the side.

"That's not fair. You're full of pizza." He sounded like a scorned child. Liam raised himself slightly, giving Brett hope of escape, before letting himself fall back down with a thud. Brett let out a grunt. He found one last burst of strength and bucked upwards. Liam was caught off guard and fell backwards against Bretts legs.   
Brett moved quickly. He replicated Liams previous position, turning him onto his stomach and sitting squarely on his back. Liam groaned and tried to swing his arms backwards in an attempt to sway the larger boy. But Brett simply caught his wrists and pinned them beside his head.

They were both breathing heavily, and with each of Liams inhales and exhales Brett rose and fell gently. Neither of them said anything, they just listened to each others silence.

Slowly, so slowly, Brett moved his hands up from Liams wrists. His fingertips grazed each knuckle as his hands rose higher until they were perfectly aligned with Liams. He let them slip down onto either side of Liams digits and then curled his own fingers. Liam didn't react for a minute, but he could hear his own heartbeat drumming in his ears. He gentle let his knuckles bend until his and Bretts fingers were interlocked. He let out a shaky breath and stared at the hands together.

Bretts weight shifted slightly and suddenly Liam could feel his breath on his neck, something stirred inside his stomach.

"Brett." He whispered. "I-" He was cut off by the sound of the front door slamming. And then Bretts weight was gone. Liams hands were empty. He turned and saw Brett sitting back on his heels looking sheepish.

"Liam! Are you home?" His mothers voice called up the stairs. Liam didn't even blink, he just looked at Brett. "Liam!"

"I-I'm here!" He replied, finally tearing his eyes away. Brett stood and ran a hand through his hair.

"I should go, my sister's probably wondering where I am." He said. Liam nodded and followed Brett as he left his room and walked down the stairs. He sat on the lowest step and began to pull on his shoes.

"Liam, did you ea-" His mother faltered when she saw Brett hunched over tying his laces. "Oh. Hi." Brett looked up to her and smiled kindly.

"Mom, this is Brett. He's the captain of my team." Liam informed his mother. Brett stood then and extended a hand to her.

"It's nice to meet you m'am." Brett said coolly. She shook his hand and gazed up at him.

"If I'd known you were having a friend over Liam I would have-"

"It's fine mom, we ate and uh now Brett has to get home." His mother nodded and gave Brett a final smile.

"Well it was good to meet you Brett. I hope to see you again sometime."

"Yes m'am." And with that Liams mother made her way past them and disappeared up the stairs. Liam turned to Brett and sighed.

"I guess I'll see you Monday."

"Yeah. I'll text you."

"Yeah."

"Okay. Thanks for having me over and stuff."

"No problem, anytime."

"I'll see ya."

"Bye." 


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So happy everyone is enjoying this! The response has been incredible !! Keep your comments coming!

On Monday they sat together at lunch, surrounded by the team and their extended posse. 

Suddenly everything was electric. When Brett grazed Liams hand, when their knees knocked together, when they bumped into each other as they pushed through the flow of students in the hallways, it was all charged and it ignited something in Liam. 

What he'd read online had been true. The connection they shared as united soulmates was so strong and sometimes it made Liams had spin how well they fit together. 

Lacrosse training finished earlier than usual that Monday evening, and so Liam took initiative and approached Brett as everyone cleared of the pitch. Brett turned to look at him as he stood taking long deep gulps of water from his bottle.

"Hey. You busy now or?" Liam asked tentatively, following beside Brett as he started to make his way towards the locker room. Brett took the bottle away from his mouth and caught his breath for a minute before replying.

"Nah. Got some homework though." 

"Wanna come to mine?" Liam spoke the words in a rush, not looking at Brett as he said it. 

"Yeah, definitely." They walked into the locker room together, and continued walking together until they were stood side by side in front of their gym bags, which were placed conveniently close together. They pulled off their shirts in sync and Liam began rummaging in his bag for his water bottle, which oddly enough he didn't actually remember bringing. He gave a frustrated sigh and tossed his school shirt back into the bag as he came up empty handed. A nudge on his harm alerted his attention to Brett, who was offering Liam his own water. 

"Thanks." Liam said, taking the bottle from Bretts hand. He took several relieving gulps before handing it back over to Brett silently. 

It was Bretts turn to rummage through his own bag, hopelessly searching for some unknown object. But then Liam was holding out his deodorant, offering it to Brett without even looking at him. Brett chuckled and took it willingly, giving himself two sprays under his arms and a general spray all over.

"How did you know that's-"

"Because you're not showering." Liam answered, pulling a t-shirt over his head. "If you don't shower after practice you use deodorant." Brett gave him a half smile, still holding the deodorant in his hands.

"But how did-"

"You don't have a towel in your bag. I just noticed when you were rooting around. No towel means no shower, no shower means deodorant." Liam finished, finally looking at Brett as he swapped his lacrosse bottoms for a pair of burgundy sweats. Brett was looking at him incredulously, making Liams cheeks flush as he turned away quickly. As he was pulling his hoodie from his bag he felt warm breath on his neck, before a voice said

"Y'know, if you weren't my soulmate, that little observation would have been really weird." A shiver went up Liams spine as he turned his head slightly. Brett sat down on the bench and pulled on his shoes. Liam gave a quick glance around the room, but everyone seemed too preoccupied with showering or their own conversations to notice the intimate interaction between them. Liam shook his head and zipped his bag up in one quick motion, hoisting it over his shoulder and looking down at Brett, who was still tying his laces.

"You ready?" Liam asked, nudging Bretts leg with his foot. Brett stood and gathered his jacket and bag, giving Liam a little nod of confirmation. They walked out together, though Brett stopped every now and again to pat a player on the back or pay them a compliment. When they stepped out into the fading light of the evening sun, Liam looked over at Brett.

"Why do you do that?" He asked curiously as they walked towards the parking lot. Brett frowned at him in confusion.

"Do what?"

"The whole like..thing with all the players."

"I'm their captain, I give credit where credit is due." He explained simply. He pulled out his keys and directed Liam to a black toyota, one of the only cars left in the lot. He unlocked the doors and Liam climbed into the passenger seat without another word.

They drove in silence for most of the journey until Liam spoke up suddenly. 

"I'm going to need to have a really quick shower when we get in. Sorry, but I stink right now." He laughed apologetically. 

"Why didn't you just shower in the locker room?" Brett asked, taking a turn onto Liams street.

"I don't want another incident like before, y'know, with my arm and stuff." Liam mumbled as they pulled up in front of Liams house. Brett frowned but didn't say anything.   
They got out of the car together and walked to the front door. Liam let them in and immediately started to walk up the stairs, leaving Brett to close the door behind him. Brett followed though and met Liam in his room as he was taking off his shoes and hoodie. 

"Where're your parents?" Brett asked, sidestepping Liam as he pulled off his socks.

"Eh, my dad's at work and my mom has some dinner with a client I think." Liam explained as he grabbed from his wardrobe. "I'll be quick I promise." Liam assured him as he jogged out of the room, pulling his t-shirt over his head as he went. Brett sat down and made himself comfortable on Liams bed, kicking off his own shoes and unzipping his jacket.

He listened to the shower turn on, the sound of water hitting tiles was relaxing. He heard the sound of clothes move against skin, Liam sliding his pants off. He shouldn't listen to this. Showering was a private thing and Brett had no right to listen, even if the sound of Liams intake of breath as he stepped under the water made Bretts chest tighten. But it was all he could hear. Everything else was cancelled out as Brett honed in on the sounds of Liams hands roaming over his body slick body. And then his hands were in his hair, and then back to down onto his skin. Silence. The click of a bottle. Hands in his hair, scrubbing away the dirt and grime from the day.   
Brett was hit with a smell. It a mixture of mint and something else, but it smelled fresh and clean.   
He could hear Liams breathing through the pouring water, he was breathing through his mouth, small shallow breaths through parted lips. Brett squeezed his eyes shut as he listened. His breaths and his touches and his everything made Bretts stomach flutter. 

But then it was quiet.   
The shower was off and suddenly Brett felt deafened by the silence. 

He pulled his phone from his pocket and busied himself with checking his social media accounts while he waited for Liam to return. When Liam finally did cross the threshold Bretts words got caught in his throat.   
He was wearing the burgundy bottoms from earlier, and nothing else. His hair was wet and unkempt as he rubbed a towel through it. Little droplets of water fell onto his shoulders and dripped down his torso. Brett watched as each bead of water fell lower and lower, past his chest and travelled agonisingly slowly down his taut stomach until they disappeared beneath the band of his bottoms.  
Liam threw the towel to the floor and gave his head a solid shake before coming and sitting down beside Brett. They were quiet as Brett gripped his phone in his hand tightly, trying to distract himself from the feeling of Liams damp arm against his own. This was cruelty. 

 


	12. Chapter 12

**Liam's P.O.V**

No one had said anything since Liam had come back. He was beginning to think he'd done something wrong. 

"You hungry?" He asked, turning his head to look at Brett and finding that they were sat a lot closer than he had thought, as his nose nearly brushed Bretts cheek. He backed away a little as Brett turned his head only slightly and shrugged.

"I'm not too bad. But like, if you want food you can-"

"No no I just thought you might be hungry or something but if you're not it's cool." Liam clenched his fists and cursed the awkward atmosphere around them. He must have said something wrong, something to piss Brett off to the point where he couldn't even look at him. 

Fed up with the silence, Liam grabbed his laptop from beside his bed. He could feel Bretts eyes on him as he logged in and waited for his desktop to load. He then opened Netflix and put on the episode of The Office they had left off on the other night. God, that fucking night. They hadn't spoken a word about it, except when Liam asked if Brett had gotten to watch any more episodes, to which Brett had shook his head and said he hadn't had the time.

The tension quickly faded as they began to laugh at the stupid jokes and gags. Brett had snorted and hiccuped at the same time at one point which had them in stitches for a solid 5 minutes, for no reason at all. When they had finally wiped away the tears streaming down there faces, Brett crossed his arms over his chest and it was quiet again.

Liam sat comfortably content until he felt something against him arm. He let his eyes flick down and saw Bretts fingers gently grazing his skin. Liam thought maybe it was an accident, until Bretts fingers began tracing swirls and lines onto his arm. Liam glanced over at Bretts face and saw his eyes trained on the laptop screen, though his fingers kept moving. 

Liam shifted his arm a little, moving it closer, letting Brett have a little more access. Brett uncrossed his arms but brought his fingers back against Liams skin, any hint of subtlety discarded. His touch sent tingles through Liams body and he had to hold back a shiver. Brett drew lines from Liams wrist up to his elbow, his fingers made zigzag motions and circular shapes as he slowly worked his fingertips all over Liams skin.

Liam was getting goosebumps as Bretts gentle touches sent vibrations through his body. He let his head fall backwards and he just focussed on the touch, the shapes, the feelings. He closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths. He wasn't sure if Brett was finally looking at him, but there was a slight shifting of weight as Brett moved beside him. Then his fingers were back. Starting his his wrist and travelling slowly up, up, up until he was as his shoulder, and then back down. He repeated the motion again, going further this time he traced alone his collar bone. Liam let a raspy breath pass through his lips as he felt Brett travel back down to his wrist. Again his fingers rose high onto his arm, over his shoulder, against his collarbone, and he hovered there for a minute. He let his fingertips dance lightly across his chest and then back to his collarbone. Liams stomach was fluttering as his breaths came out in short nervous exhales past his parted lips. 

Again, Brett brought his fingers down to his wrist and slowly began the incline, teasing Liam so much he wanted to scream. As Liam felt Bretts fingers on his neck, he also felt his breath. He was breathing hotly beneath his ear and Liam turned his head away from him slightly, extending his neck in front of him. Before Liam could take another breath, Bretts lips were on his neck, lightly ghosting across his flesh. Bretts lips moved to the side, then down, then up, then to the side again, peppering different spots of Liams neck with kisses. Liam finally turned his head back towards the older boy, but his eyes remained closed as he relished in the surprise of Bretts touches. 

He was kissed on his jaw, beside his ear, beneath his eyes, everywhere, until finally their lips touched. 

They stayed still together for a moment, taking time to feel their connection before either of them made a move. But then Liam couldn't take it anymore. He moved his lips against Bretts desperately, letting out a breath he didn't even know he'd been holding. He brought his hands to either side of Bretts neck and let his fingers dig into his skin. Brett reacted by placing his hands on Liams hips and pulling him in. Liam let himself be guided as he pushed his weight flush against Bretts chest. 

Bretts teasing touches had left Liam hot and anxious and frustrated, so damn frustrated that he was desperate to get as much of Brett as he could. Their lips moved together firmly, Brett taking Liams bottom lip between his teeth and pulling gently. This evoked a moan from Liam and he pulled Brett against him rightly.

Liam had no idea what he was doing. His body was shaking so much with the anticipation and the excitement that he barely noticed that he'd let himself be pulled onto Bretts lap, while Brett sat upright, keeping Liam close to him.

It was Brett who pulled back first, smiling and breathless. He kept his hands on Liams back as he let his forehead fall against Liams chest. Liams heart was hammering so hard in his chest he was sure he could see Bretts head move with each beat. His eyes closed as he calmed down slightly, rubbing his thumbs against either side of Bretts jaw.

Brett spoke first, his words hot against Liams bare skin.

"I don't know how that happened," he breathed with a smile, "but I'm really glad it did." Liam couldn't find the words. His mind was scrambled and he could barely react. He simply nodded and climbed off Bretts lap, lying down on the bed tiredly. Brett followed him down, leaning his head against hand as he watched the boys chest rise and fall. 

"That was good. That was really...good." Liam said, turning to look into Bretts eyes. They were twinkling like always, looking down at him happily. Brett leaned down slowly and brushed his lips against Liams before pulling away again. Liam missed his touch already, and so he rolled over and buried his head in Bretts shoulder, letting his eyes droop and close gently as he breathed in the scent of his soulmate.


	13. Chapter 13

Everything was great. Everything was so fucking great. 

Liam was only failing one class (which was history but come on), he was kicking ass and taking names in lacrosse and he had his soulmate by his side every single day. Brett would drive him home after school, go to the gym with him on weekends, help get a bigger word count on his history essays, and just be there. 

They never established what their relationship was. Brett would be there to rip on him in front of the team, to train him after school on the field long after the sun had set, and he would be there to hold Liam at night and talk about anything they wanted to talk about, and he would kiss him so gently Liam barely felt it, but he always knew he was there. 

Things were so good for so long that the scale had to tip, and it did. 

 

It was the first game of the season, everyone was riled up in the locker rooms. There were hoots and yells and bursts of energy as the teenagers went over game plans and strategies. Finally it was time for the coach and Brett to give them their pep talk.

"First game of the season boys, the first game of the season." The coach spoke the words gently as everyone gathered around him. "I've seen all of you play. I know what each and every one of your strengths are, and I know what each and every one of your weaknesses are. Over the course of this semester I've seen those weaknesses fade to nothing, while your strengths just keep building and building and building, you hear me?" The coaches voice rose in volume with every word and was met with the battle cries of the team. "You go out there and you demolish every single weakness you ever thought you had, you go out there and you show what strength really is, you go out there and you don't come back until you win and leave nothing but dust in your wake!" The room erupted in screams and shouts and every other noise humanly possible as the team stomped their feet and banged on lockers. 

Brett stood up on then on one of the benches with a confident grin plastered on his face. He looked across the faces staring up at him and spoke clearly.

"I don't need to tell you to try and win. I don't need to tell you to give it your best shot. Because I know that every single one of you in here will step out onto that pitch and fight until we are victorious!" His yell was met with a chorus of cheers and Bretts face glowed. "Let's tear them apart!" And then everyone was running. The surge of bodies pushing towards the exit was like a tsunami, and amongst it all Liam felt one hand grip his wrist and pull him out of it. As the locker room emptied Liam stood staring up at Brett as adrenaline coursed through his veins. 

"You gonna win for me?" Brett asked, his hand gripping the back of Liams neck firmly. Liam gave a resolute nod, never breaking eye contact with his captain. Brett smiled at him with a maddened look in his eye and pulled him forward, planting a strong kiss onto Liams lips before pulling back and shoving his helmet over his head. Liam did the same and together they walked out onto the pitch, the cheers from the crowd engulfing them.

 

It was halfway through the match and Devenford Prep was winning 6-2. Spirits were high and everyone was running on confident energy. The opposing team was intimidating to say the least, all of them reaching 6 ft or above, with broad shoulders and thick legs. What they lacked in speed and agility they made up for in brute force. Liam had begun to question whether they were here to actually play lacrosse or just beat the shit out of everyone on the team. He had been kept out of the line of fire thus far, but with every one of his team mates that got pushed to the ground, his blood pressure spiked more and more. 

He saw Andy go down like a bag of bricks and everyone paused for a minute, waiting for him to move or show some sign that he was alive. With a groan he rolled over and let himself be guided off the pitch while a substitute ran on to replace him. Liam gritted his teeth and watched the burly lacrosse player from the other team stride away from the scene completely undisciplined. He questioned how much longer his patience would last as the game resumed play.

 He kept an eye on Brett, occasionally glancing over to make sure he was till standing. 

But as Brett ran between the mammoth players of the other team, making his way stealthily towards to goals, it looked like he was going to score a heroic goal when suddenly he was on his back. The snap of his leg was heard throughout the entire pitch and he groaned in pain. That was when Liam moved. He was across the field in seconds, throwing his stick and helmet to the ground. He saw Brett try and move his leg which was bent at a grotesque angle and they made eye contact.

"Liam, no don't-" Brett hissed , trying to get himself off the ground as a swarm of people surrounded him. Liam looked from Brett to the ape of a player that had just broken his leg, his back was turned and he received a high five from another ape like creature trying to pass as a teenager. Liam ran and was on him in seconds. His arms wrapped around his neck tightly as he applied as much pressure as he could. He could feel him try to claw at his arms and wrists but he held tight, gritting his teeth as he applied more and more pressure to the guys neck. He fell to his knees and Liam heard people calling his name, begging him to let him go. Someone grabbed him around his waist and lifted him off the offending player, who then gasped for air desperately. Liam wriggled free from whoever was gripping him and threw a single punch to the beasts head, right onto his temple. There was a crunch the player fell to the ground. 

Liam was pulled away properly then, several arms restraining him as he spat into his face. Everyone was staring at him, his entire team, the other team, the crowd, everyone. But one face stood out among them all, and that was Brett, who was now standing, his arm slung around the neck of Will for support. His eyes looked so sad that Liam couldn't even look at him. He bowed his head and let himself be guided off the pitch.

Coach met him on the sidelines, his face bright red and oozing with rage. It took him a minute to actually speak as he stood there staring Liam down. Liam wanted to smash that stupid look off his face, but before he could act, the coach was speaking. 

"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT DUNBAR?! YOU NEARLY KILLED THAT POOR SON OF A BITCH!" He roared, flecks of spit landed on Liams face. Liam huffed and tensed his jaw.The coach took a few steadying breaths before speaking again. "You're done." He croaked, running a hand through his thinning grey hair. 

"What do you mean done?" Liam demanded, taking a step forward with his fists clenched. 

"DONE. You're done! Gone! Out! Finished! Off my damn team!" Liam went to protest but coach held up a finger to silence him. "You get your ass into that locker room, get changed, and get the hell away from my team, you understand me?" He spoke through his teeth, his finger jerking at Liam with every word. Liam stood there and glared at his former coach before sulking off back to the changing room, throwing bits of his uniform  in every direction.   
  


He punched the walls, he punched the locker, he kicked the gym bags that littered the floor, before letting a frustrated yell burst from his throat. He walked into the showers and turned on the cold water and let it wash over him. His face felt hot and his body was red with rage. He clenched and unclenched his bloody fists, pulled at his hair and gave three more final punches to the white tiled walls.  _Off the team. You fucked it Dunbar. It's gone. The one thing you had and you fucking blew it. Off the fucking team. Stupid ! Stupid ! Stupid !_


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nearly 3k views omg my mind is totally blown !  
> As always, leave a comment and tell me what you think!

Liam sat in the shower with his head hung low. The water had shut off 5 minutes ago but he made no attempt at moving. He just watched the puddles of water around his feet slowly flow towards the drain. He could hear the match playing on outside and clenched his fists bitterly, relishing in the sting of his cut knuckles. He knew there was no going back now. 

He stood up from the cool tiles and made his way back over to the main changing area and began to pull his clothes on. As Liam zipped his bag up he caught sight of the dented lockers, and looked down at his hand which had turned a sickly purple colour, paired with a disgusting swelling. The dried blood had been washed away so Liams torn flesh was clearly visible. 

He walked to the exit, stepping over all the gym bags he had thrown on the floor in his rage, and took a final look back at the quiet locker room. He saw his own blood smeared against various parts of the walls from where he had lashed and punched until his hand was numb. He had a sour taste in his mouth as he crossed the threshold and heard the door close behind him. 

He walked through the parking lot and around to the front of the school where he would begin his trek home, when he saw it. The navy piece of junk that was his coaches car. Liam looked around him, making sure he was alone before taking a few steps towards the vehicle. He dropped his bag beside it and just stared at it for a minute, before walking across the lot to the old utility shed. He wrenched the door open a crack and looked around for a minute before his eyes landed on a rusty crowbar and an old tin of white spray paint. Liam took the two in his hands and made his way back over to the car. He dropped the can beside his bag and took a few deep breaths, trying to steady his shaking hands and then swung. 

He hit the wing mirror and it came away completely. Liam felt exhilarated. He swung again and hit just above one of the front wheels, leaving a deep dent. He swung again in the same spot, and again and again until the metal was completely warped. He then went for the windscreen, giving it a solid smack right in the middle, leaving a large crack spidering its way outwards. He went over the the drivers side window and smashed, to the back windows and smashed, to the headlights and smashed, he sung and swung until there were chunks of glass littering the entirety of the floor surrounding the car like little diamonds.

He then went at the wheels, stabbing and jabbing each one multiple times with the end of the crowbar until they were completely devoid of air. He was out of breath and his arms ached, but he still had so much pent up energy and aggression that he couldn't stop there. He dropped the crowbar and reached for the can on the ground. He shook it firmly before letting spelling out the words 'THIS IS YOUR FAULT' decorate the side of the car. He raised the can and began to write something on the roof, when a force pushed him to the side and held him still.

 

**Brett's P.O.V**

The game went on as soon as everyone made sure both he and the player from the opposing team were alright. Honestly, Bretts leg should have been snapped in half, he shouldn't even be able move it at all right now, but his healing worked fast, and he managed to moan and groan on the ground long enough for his leg to repair itself enough so he could stand. 

He was now sitting on the bench, the coach keeping a close eye on him. He wanted to run to the locker rooms, to grab Liam and shake him and scream at him and hold him. He wanted to make sure he was alright. The ferocity in his eyes was something Brett had never seen before, not even from any werewolf. He nearly choked someone out just for pushing Brett down, damn near gave him a concussion with that hit to the side of the head. But Brett was stuck on this stupid bench holding an ice pack on his unnecessarily elevated leg, which he honestly didn't need. What he needed was Liam. 

The roars from the players and the crowd made it difficult to focus on Liams movements after he'd left the pitch. He'd heard a single yell, and that was enough to get Bretts heart rate through the roof. 

After 15 minutes of agonising silence, he finally heard something. The sound of glass breaking and Liams strained grunts. Brett stood from his seat, to the amazement of coach and all the benched players around him, and began to walk away from the match.

"Talbot! Where the hell do you think you're going?!" His coach called after him, but Brett kept walking, breaking into a jog when he knew he was away from prying eyes. He followed the sound of destruction out to the front of the school building into the staff parking lot.

There he saw Liam. He could smell his sweat mixed with blood, and watched as Liam viciously attacked the coaches car with a crowbar. He was still as he watched Liam drop the weapon to the ground, thinking maybe it was over, until he saw him pick up a small tin can and shake it it his hands.

Brett cursed under his breath and ran behind the younger boy just as he prepared to write a second message on the roof of the car. Brett reached out and gave Liam a firm shove before grabbing his arms in his own, constricting his movements. Liam dropped the spray paint in surprise, and tried to wriggle out of Bretts grip. He jerked his arms downwards in an attempt to elbow Bretts sides. 

"Let me go!" 

"Liam-"

"Get the fuck off me!" Liam swung his head back and hit Brett square in the jaw, causing him to release his grip and stumble backwards. He held his hand to his burst lip and watched as Liam turned to look at him. There was no sign of remorse or regret, just pure anger.

In the blink of an eye Bretts fist connected with Liams cheekbone, throwing the boy back against the maimed car. Liam barely took a minute to recover before he was going for Brett again. He pushed Brett back and punched him in his stomach. Brett countered that by swinging and hitting Brett right in the nose, a horrible crunch rang through his ears. Liam stepped back for a minute and spat blood onto the road before tackling Brett to the ground. He hit him once, twice, three times before Brett finally caught his wrists and held him still.

"Liam! Enough!" He brought his knee up to Liams abdomen in a final blow. Liam curled in on himself and fell to the side, clutching his stomach and taking painful breaths. The two of them lay there for a minute, and when Brett finally found his strength he stood up above Liam. He offered him his hand but Liam slapped it away, choosing instead to hoist himself up, one arm curled around his belly. 

"Are you okay?" Brett asked, gathering a large amount of bloodied saliva in his mouth and spitting it on the ground. Liam looked at him then, and guilt washed over Brett like a tidal wave. Liams nose was crooked at an angle, obviously broken, and blood poured down over his lips and chin. There was a purplish bruise forming on his left cheekbone, and his eyebrows were drawn together in pain. Brett had done this. Brett had splattered his soulmates face in his own blood, Brett had made Liam look at him like a cautious animal trying to avoid a predator.

"No I'm not fucking okay. I'm off the team Brett! That jackass kicked me off the team!" Liam was starting to get riled up again, Brett could see the colour rise in his cheeks. 

"Yeah and you're probably gonna get kicked out of the school for this little stunt you idiot!" Bretts tone was harsh and it made Liams eyebrows rise into his hairline. 

"Oh I'm an idiot now am I? This all happened because of you! I was trying to-"

"Trying to what? What?! You nearly killed a guy because I got hit in a fucking contact sport!" Brett hadn't realised he was screaming until he was met with Liams own intensity. 

"He nearly tore your leg off and no one was going to do anything about it!"

"So you suffocate him?!"

"You know I can't control it!" Liam growled, taking a step towards Brett. He couldn't let this go. Liam doesn't even realise what he's done. Liam was off the team and out of this school, no question, and all Brett could do was yell and scream. 

"I know that but Jesus Christ Liam! Thanks to your fucking psychotic explosions you'll be expelled!" Liam straightened his back and glared at Brett. He didn't react right away, but when he did, his voice was dripping with venom. 

"I'm not psychotic." He snarled. Without realising, Brett scoffed and rolled his eyes, as though he was mocking Liams statement.

Silently, Liam picked up his gym bag and walked over to Brett. He came so close to Brett that he could see the beads of sweat dotting his forehead. He looked directly into Bretts eyes, and Brett swore he could see a storm in Liams irises.

"I hope I get expelled. I hope I never see this school again. I hope I never see you again." Liams lips curled upwards as he spoke the words, and then he was walking away.

It was like someone had squeezed all the air out of Bretts body, as he was left to stand there alone, the echo of Liams words seeping through Bretts brain like poison.


	15. Chapter 15

There was an assembly the next day in school. The entire student and faculty populous gathered in the gym and listened to the rantings and ravings of their principle and the coach. There was uproar regarding the car, Brett thought they might put a bounty on the head of whoever had done it.

Brett noticed that Liam was absent that day, typical, the one day he would have to face up for his actions and the little coward couldn't even show his face. 

After the coach had finished his little tirade, everyone was dismissed, except the lacrosse team. They all gathered around the coach quietly as they waited for the rest of the school to exit the gymnasium. When the coach had silence and everyones full attention, he spoke through his teeth.

"It happened during the game. Our WINNING game. Some little bastard took a crowbar to my car while we were bringing this school the honour it deserves." His flare for the dramatic never seemed to falter. "Now. I want to know who did this. I'm looking at every single one of you, my team, my golden boys. I don't think any of you were capable of such a heinous attack.  
But as you all have probably realised, we're a man short, well, I say a man when really he's just an overgrown child. Maybe you know who I mean, about yay heigh, brown hair, likes to throw temper tantrums?" Brett shifted uncomfortably, but kept a firm eye on his coach. "That little gremlin disappeared last night, the last time I saw him I was kicking him off my team. Now, does that sound like motive to wreck someones car?" 

"Yes coach." Chorused the team. Brett looked around at all of them, and saw that their faces seemed bored and uninterested. 

"Yes it does." The coach began pacing in front of them all, and then came to stand in front of Brett. The captain looked down at his coach as he eyed him suspiciously. 

"Talbot. You also disappeared last night." Nope. No way. No. He was not taking the fall for this. No.

"Yes sir." Brett replied. 

"Where exactly did you go?" Bretts palms began to sweat and he cleared his throat before responding. 

"A walk sir."

"A walk?"

"Yes sir."

"In the middle of our game?"

"I wanted to uh..test out my leg." His excuse was pathetic and was fooling no one. He even heard someone behind him wince as he delivered his shambles of an alibi.

"See Brett, I don't believe you. Not even a little bit. But I don't think you ravaged my car like some sort of wild beast, no. But I do think you know who did." Brett shook his head and stared at the ground. _Please don't make me do it. Please._ "Who was it Brett?" He shrugged, feigning innocence. But the coach wouldn't have it.  
"Brett, if you don't tell me within the next 10 seconds who demolished my car, because I know you know, then you're done." Bretts head snapped up and met his coaches eyes with a bemused stare.

"Coach! I-I'm telling you I don't know who-"

"Enough! I know you know, hell even I think I know, but I need you to say the name."

"Coach-"

"Say his name!"

"No I-"

"Say his name or you're out! No more lacrosse, no more captain, nothing! And two weeks of detention." Brett took a step back and looked around at his fellow team mates. They all looked at him sympathetically, but many nodded their ends in encouragement, urging Brett to just tell the truth. "Say his name." The coach repeated. Brett hated this. He hated being backed against a wall, but he didn't have a choice did he? 

He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, he kept them closed as he delivered the fatal blow.

"Liam Dunbar."

 

**Liams P.O.V**

His mother had kept him home from school. Unable to attend the game, the first look she got of her son was this morning with a broken nose and a blue cheek. Liam had told her it happened during the game, a particularly rough tackle before he was benched due to injury. His step-father came in then and tended to his nose, giving it a firm jerk as it cracked painfully back into place.

He missed 4 calls while he was in the shower, all from Brett, and when his phone rang a fifth time Liam was shaking his hair dry. He picked it up in annoyance.

"What."

"Liam! Liam I'm sorry okay, you need to know I'm sorry. I didn't have a choice, the coach he-" Brett was interrupted by the sound of a car door slamming shut. Liam walked over to his window and saw his mother walked towards the house. Liam frowned, she was meant to be in work, maybe she forgot something. But as the front door slammed violently, Liams blood ran cold. 

"LIAM!" She shrieked, and Liam had to fight the urge not cower under his bed. He could hear Brett trying to regain his attention over the phone, but he just hung up and opened his bedroom door.

"Mom?" The words had barely left his lips when she was screaming again.

"Liam get down here this instant! NOW!" Liam fumbled to replace the towel he hand been holding around his waist with a pair of paints. He scuttled out his door and down the stairs, where his mother was waiting impatiently. 

"Mom what-"

"I just got a call from your school Liam. They want us, me and you, to come in to discuss an indiscretion involving the vandalism of a  teachers car." Liam wouldn't meet his mothers eyes, which only seemed to fuel her anger. "Liam! Why do they think you wrecked your teachers car?!" Liam shrugged and shuffled his feet. The fact that his mother didn't even think it was him made it so much worse. When he finally looked at her, her eyebrows were furrowed as she waited for an answer.

"I did it. During the game." His mother gasped but he kept going. "I got into it with the coach. He kicked me off the team so I-I just did it." 

"Go upstairs and get dressed, I'll be waiting in the car." The combination of anger and disappointment in her voice made Liams eyes sting and well up as he turned his back and walked back up the stairs. Under his breath came the faintest curse, barely audible.

"Fucking Brett."


	16. Chapter 16

Liam sat beside his mother in his principles office with the coach standing to the principles right side, leering at Liam as though he was an escaped convict. Liam listened as the principle discussed the severity of his actions and the punishments that must be put in place. 

"There's no two ways about it, Liam. What you did was extremely serious, and you're lucky we don't get the police involved. You could end up in a juvenile detention facility if the coach decides to press charges, do you understand that?" Liam nodded glumly as his principle watched him from behind his desk.  
"I wish it didn't have to be like this, but we really have no other option. Expulsion is usually our last resort, but I'm afraid-"

"Expulsion? There must be something else. We will of course pay for the damages and Liam will work to-" Liams mother interrupted, leaning forward in her seat.

"I'm sorry Ms.Dunbar but-"

"Mrs. Geyer." She corrected. "And I know you have been made aware of Liam's condition, he has these episodes and it can be very difficult to contain it."

"I apologise, Mrs. Geyer. But as I was saying, we honestly have no choice. Damaging a teachers property, especially in such a violent manner is one of the worst offences a student can commit. Also partnered with the attack during the lacrosse game, Liams behaviour is unacceptable." Liams face felt hot as he felt his mothers stare turn to him.

"What attack during the lacrosse game? Liam?" Liam looked at his mom helplessly and shrugged.

"It was nothing." He mumbled. 

"Mrs. Geyer he attacked a player on the opposing team. He had him in a headlock, he couldn't breath, he nearly died." Liam heard his moms gasp and he was filled with shame. He knew what he'd done was wrong, but to have it played out to him and his mother like that made him feel like such a villain.

"Liam, is that true?" His mothers voice was filled with sadness and it made Liam want to crawl under the table and never come out again. He simply nodded as a tear fell from his eye. 

"I couldn't...I couldn't control it. It just happened. I'm sorry." There was silence in the room as everyone reflected on his words. He knew his apology wouldn't make a difference, he was getting expelled, no doubt about it, and it was just something he would have to accept.

 

**Brett's P.O.V**

Brett stood in the hallway 4 doors down from the principles office, his head leaning against the brick wall as he listened to what was unfolding inside. 

"I couldn't...I couldn't control it. It just happened. I'm sorry." Brett wanted to burst in and drag Liam out of that room and never look back. The sadness that was radiating from the room was overwhelming.

Brett had seen Liam snap, he'd seen him attack the player, he'd seen Liam destroy the car and he'd seen Liam look so broken he was almost unrecognisable. He'd felt his fury with every punch, he'd tasted it in his blood and he'd watched it fade away hours later as he healed.

Liam was going to be gone because of something he couldn't control, because of something no one would understand, and also because of Brett. 

Brett listened in agony as his principle delivered Liams sentence. Expulsion from Devenford Prep. 

He heard the scrape of chairs being pushed back, handshakes, muttered apologies and farewells, and then Liams mother was walking out the door. She gave Brett a glance and it was like he was looking into Liams eyes during one of his outbursts. Brett knew that Liam would be in for it when he got home, and he sympathised with him.   
Then Liam was walking out, his head hung low and his hands in his pockets. Brett stepped in front of him, forcing him to look up.

"Liam." Brett breathed, looking down at the boys face, and damn, he looked so young a helpless. His bright blue eyes were bloodshot and watery, and he looked so tired. He didn't say anything to Brett, just looked at him, searching his face for answers.

"I'm out." He whispered, his voice raspy. He gave Brett a a weak, pained smile. Brett could do nothing but stare at him.

"Liam I didn't have a choice."

"No of course not. I totally understand. Good luck in the rest of your lacrosse games, captain." His tone was bitter as he shoved past him, following his mom who had made it down to the end of the hall. 

"Liam, it wasn't like that. He made me-" But Liam simply threw a middle finger up over his shoulder as he stomped down the hallway and out of the school


	17. Chapter 17

Brett had called, texted, e-mailed, he even wrote a god damn letter, but Liams silence prevailed. Not that he'd expected any different, he'd gotten the kid expelled when he was barely in the school 2 months. He deserved the treatment he was getting, but that didn't mean he enjoyed it.

Everything went on as normal in school. Classes were taught, lunches were eaten, lacrosse was played, people lived their lives. Though Brett was driven to the brink of insanity with every hushed whisper of Liams name, the gossip spreading like wildfire through every hallway, between every student.   
Some were saying Liam had stolen the coaches car and wrecked it against a wall, some said he put the guy on the other lacrosse team in a coma, hell some people said he killed them.   
But it was all talk. No one knew what happened or why. No one had seen the fire in Liams eyes, or his broken and bloodied face, or his tear stained cheeks. No one saw the look in his eyes when he talked about his father, or the way his fingertips would dance across Bretts wrists, ghosting over his imprints. No one saw Liam, and now no one will.

 

One Saturday, Brett finally made the decision to visit Liam at his house. It was early October, and the chill in the air warranted a heavy jacket.

Brett rapped on the door several times with cold knuckles and waited with butterflies in his stomach, watching his breath escape from his lips like tiny clouds of fog. 

Liams mother answered the door and smiled warmly at Brett.

"Afternoon miss. Is Liam home?" Brett asked in his gentlest voice. He didn't know whether she knew that it was him that had sold out her son, or whether he was even welcome within 6 feet of Liam again. But her kind eyes told Brett he was safe.

"I'm afraid Liam's grounded, Brett. No leaving the house, no visitors, not until he starts school again." She made to close the door, but Brett stepped forward, extending an arm out an placing it on the wood of the door.

"Please I..its about school. I uhm..I have some of his books that he'd left at my house, I just wanted to give them back." He gestured to his car which was parked up against the curb behind him, and watched as Liams mom studied Bretts face. It was a complete lie of course. There was nothing in his car but a pack of gum and a broken flashlight.

She sighed and closed the door on Bretts face, but then he heard her call Liams name and the quick patter of footsteps coming down the stairs.

Then Liam was standing at the door, wearing his old sweat pants and a moth eaten dark green sweater. His hair was sticking up at odd angles like it used to after they had been laying together for a long time.   
He pulled his sleeves down over his hands when he saw Brett, looking up at the older boy with a frustrated expression.

"What do you want?" He groaned, letting his head fall against the door frame. Truth be told Brett didn't know what he wanted. He just needed to see Liam, to assure him that he never wanted to go behind him like that.

"I came to see you, and apologise. What I did was shitty." Brett muttered, making sure to look Liam directly in the eyes as he spoke, he needed to convey his sincerity in a way words couldn't express. Liam just looked at his with his eyebrows raised. 

"Shitty? You got me expelled." Liam hissed, trying to keep his voice down. Brett knew this conversation wasn't going to be easy, but the fact that Liams mother was probably listening was just an added obstacle. 

"Okay I guess that's fair. But technically you got yourself expelled." Brett muttered the last part mainly to himself. Liams mouth opened slightly as his eyebrows knitted together. He stepped over the threshold and closed the door gently behind him. He looked up and Brett fiercely, his neck craning as he looked into Bretts eyes.

"You ratted me out. And for what? So you could keep your precious title? Captain Brett?" Liam was seething, a vein in his neck was protruding and Brett could hear his heartbeat quicken. If he didn't calm him down Liam was definitely going to swing for him. 

"It wasn't like that. Coach he...he knew it was you. He saw me leave during the game and he put two and two together. He would have found it anyway, it was just a matter of time." Brett explained. Liam backed off slightly, but only slightly. 

"Well I hope it was worth it." He turned slightly to go back inside, but Brett grabbed his arm, desperate to keep him there. 

"It wasn't. I wish I'd never done it. I'd take it back in an instant if I could." Liam wouldn't meet his eyes and tried to pull his arm free, but Bretts grip only tightened. "Liam please. I don't want you to leave. Please just..." Brett didn't know what he was asking for. He knew that if he let Liam go, there was a chance he wouldn't see him again. 

"It's a bit late for that now. Y'know they were talking about military school in there? They wanna ship me off, make me someone elses problem. They think it might scare me straight." Liam spat the words like they were dirt in his mouth, but Brett kept his fingers wrapped tightly around the smaller boys wrist. 

"Liam-"

"Why do you care?! Honestly why do you care? Why does it matter?" Liams voice trembled and his fucking eyes were like puddles. He was so young, Brett was again looking at this boy and truly seeing him. He didn't deserve this.

"Because..because we're soulmates." Brett spoke as if it was obvious, and tried not to think about the fact that he was having to remind Liam that they were each others. Liam blinked away the tears that had formed in his eyes.

"What does that even mean? We're not even..it doesn't make a difference." 

"It doesn't make a difference? Liam we're..you and I, we're meant to-"

"Meant to what? Be together? Love each other? What?" Brett didn't know how to answer him. He didn't know what being a soulmate meant. He didn't know what he was supposed to do. 

"I don't know." He didn't see the point in lying. He let Liams arm go and took a step back. Liam watched him carefully, waiting for him to say more. "I don't know what it means. You're probably right, it could mean nothing." Brett gave a helpless laugh, it was almost manic.

Liam didn't care about him or the permanent piece of him he would carry for the rest of his life, so why should Brett? 

"How about I walk away, and I don't come back? Would that make you happy? To have me leave you alone, do you can start your new life in your new school?" Liam shifted uncomfortably and frowned as Brett rambled on. "Do you want to forget? Will you ignore those little marks on your arm? Will I? Will I stop looking at the only scar on my body, the only thing that has never healed, that will never heal?" Brett had never confessed that to anyone. Not to anyone in his pack and certainly not to Liam. The thought of it scared him too much. Liam was the only permanent mark on his body. 

They stared at each other in silence, just watching. Liam watched as Bretts emotions spilled over. He was angry and upset and panicked, but all Liam could do was stand there. Brett laughed sadly and ran a hand through his hair and began to walk back to his car. 

"Where are you going?" Liam called after him. 

"To forget."


	18. Chapter 18

**Liam's P.O.V**

Liam closed the door after watching Brett leave. He stood with his hand still on the handle of the door, hoping maybe Brett would come back, or wondering if he should go after him.   
Of course Liam knew he was being stupid. On some level he knew this wasn't Brett's fault. It was his condition, his outbursts, not Brett's. 

His mother was standing behind him then, her arms crossed as she stared at him quizzically. 

"Well?"

"Well what?"

"The books? Where are the books?" She asked, walking forward and nudging him away from the door. She peered out of the small glass window, as if she was checking to see if Brett was still there.

"What boo-oh. He..he brought the wrong ones. He brought his ones." Liam mumbled, making his way over to the stairs in the hopes that he might be able to disappear to his room for the rest of the night. 

"Liam. No more lying." Her tone caught him off guard and he turned back to face her. She watched him curiously, searching for answers. "What did he want?" Liam wasn't sure he could answer without breaking down and telling her everything. Maybe that wasn't such a bad thing. 

"He wanted to apologise. He was the one who told the school about the car." He explained, rubbing the back of his neck. "He was the one who stopped me. He came over when I was at the car and he pulled me away. But I was so angry, mom I was so angry, you know how it gets. I turned on him and we fought and it was bad." Liam was starting to get worked up and his mother stepped closer.   
"He hates that I got expelled, and he doesn't want me to leave." He had his mothers attention now, and so he just kept talking before she had a chance to interrupt. "I blamed him. I thought it was all his fault when it wasn't. It was me. But now he..he hates me. I pushed him away mom." And then he was in his mothers arms, a warm comfort washed over him as he clung to her. It had been so long since he'd spoken like that, since he truly unloaded what he was feeling. 

His mother shushed him and stroked his hair lightly, trying to calm him down before he got too upset or angry. Liam pulled away slightly and rubbed his face, his fingers kneading into his skin as he began to get a pounding headache. 

"I'm gonna lie down. I just need to..lie down." He mumbled, backing away from his mothers embrace and walking up the stairs.   
He fell face first onto his bed heavily and lay there for about a minute before letting an almighty shriek get muffled by his pillow. 

There was a knock at the door, but Liam didn't have time to answer before his mom was coming in and sitting down next to him. She placed her hand soothingly on his back.

"I think we need to talk." She said quietly, as if not to disturb Liam too much. Liam stayed on his stomach and grunted in response. His mother continued. "There's mote that you're not telling me, Liam. I feel like I know what it is. Is there anything else you think I should know?" Liam was quiet. Should he tell her? Maybe she could help him. She was one of the only people he knew who had found and lost their soulmate. She knew what it was like to be separated from the person you were destined to love, she knew what it was like to live without them. 

"We're soulmates." He stated, his stomach clenching as he spoke. He felt tense and nervous as he waited for her to respond.

"I figured as much." Liam turned over and looked at her in surprise, but she just sat there smiling at him knowingly.

"H-how?" 

"Well it didn't take long to put it together. You get your marks then all of a sudden there's this boy who's at the house more than my own husband, and he just happens to have marks as well?" She chuckled a little at the bemused look on her sons face.

"And you didn't think to ask me about it?"

"I knew you would tell me when you were ready." Liam let his head rest against his pillow once more, a gentle calm washing over him. They sat quietly together, each thinking about different things, until Liam said

"What does it even mean to have a soulmate? What if we're not meant to..to.." Liam sighed in frustration and shook his head. He didn't know what he was trying to say, but he just need some sort of answers. Why was Brett his soulmate? What if your soulmate hates you?

"There's no guidelines or rulebook about how to love someone. There's no one thing you can do to make sure you stay with someone forever. There will always be times when you are separate, when you hate each other, when you never want to see them again, and those times will be hard. But you need to remember to keep living." 

"But what if things are different now? What if I have to live the rest of my life with these scars but I never see him again?" 

"You know, your step father never met his soulmate. He's gone his whole life without ever getting a single fingerprint. But he realised that those marks are not the defining factor in a relationship. He could have spent years searching for The One, and never had the chance to live his real life. I might never have met him. Don't let those marks dictate your life Liam, you still have a choice in who you love." 

"So what, Brett may be my soulmate but if he-"

"If it's not the right time now, don't let it stop you from finding your own love. Things will fall into place."

They sat together quietly, and Liams mother was about to get up and leave him when he finally spoke.

"What was it like when dad died?" His mother said nothing for a minute before letting out a gentle sigh.

"I'd never known a feeling like it. There was just this great, vast emptiness inside me. It's almost cruel, giving you someone who you love so much and so unconditionally, and then taking them away again. When his fingerprints disappeared, I don't think there are words to describe that pain." Her voice was shaking slightly, but she spoke clearly. It hurt Liam deep in his core to know how much his mother had suffered when he had absolutely no idea. He wished he could go back to that time and be there for her, take her pain away.

"How did you keep going?"

"Well I had to didn't I? I had you to look after. I wasn't the only one who lost something the day your father died." Liam sat up and looked into his mothers eyes and saw the pain she had experienced, and her strength to keep going. She reached out and let the back of her hand graze over his cheek. "You're so like him, sometimes it feels like he's not even gone." Liam reached up and took her hand in his. He had a new found love and respect for his mother, and a fierce protectiveness, he never wanted her to feel that pain again. 

"What do I do?" His mother thought about his question for so long that he feared she would never answer.

"You endure."

 

 


	19. Chapter 19

Brett's P.O.V

Brett sat in his bedroom, the door locked, the sound of his sisters frustrated banging on the door fading away 10 minutes ago. She'd yelled about how she could easily break the door down with her little finger, but for some reason she decided against it. When Brett arrived home after seeing Liam he had stormed up the stairs and locked himself away, earning several concerned glances from his pack. 

He lay on his bed and scrunched up his eyes in pain. His claws were protruding from his fingertips, the hard points digging into the skin of his left wrist, cutting into the five imprints that scarred his skin. He scratched and carved, unable to look down at the blood dripping down his arm. 

He wanted them gone. He wanted them gone. He wanted them gone. 

In a moment of impulse he had just dug large nails into his skin and just felt the pain. He moved his fingers and scratched deeper around the 5 little marks. The 5 little pieces of Liam. These 5 reminders of what he couldn't have.

A firm knock on the door startled Brett, but he didn't move. He just sat frozen on his bed, nails embedded in his arm as he willed whoever was interrupting him to go away. Another knock and Brett just squeezed his eyes shut.

"No." He murmured under his breath, aware that whoever it was would be able to hear him. 

"Brett." It was Satomi. She would never burst in on someone, she valued privacy and knew that forcing someone into sharing was no way to maintain a relationship of trust and respect. Brett let his eyes open, tears burning and teeth clenched. He let out a long, broken exhale and slowly the door opened.

Through the tiniest fraction of space he could sense Satomi's presence cleansing the room, lifting the burdened air he had been sweltering in.

"We don't need to speak. But we can, when and if you're ready." Her voice was so soft and warm, her words enveloped him, easing away the tension that knotted his back and shoulders. His arms fell to his sides as he cleared his head, trying to form the words to express what was happening to him.

But everything had built up like a tidal wave on the horizon, growing and gaining speed too fast and too fierce to be normal, and he felt himself drown in the break, spluttering on the water as he gasped for air, trying to regain control as he was pulled deeper and deeper into unknown depths.

Brett had let himself become blinded by his own confusion. Confusion about himself, confusion about Liam, confusion about everything he had experienced. He let himself forget that he had his pack, his backbone of support that was always there. He had pushed them away, same as he had been pushed away by Liam.

He looked over his shoulder and saw Satomi looking at him with eyes that bared more knowledge than a thousand years of life could grant, and he knew he would be alright. He knew he would get up and keep walking. His blood was still flowing and his heart was still pumping. He was breathing in and out, in and out and he knew that he could make it. He knew that he could endure.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's 2016 and I've realised I've completely neglected this story and I feel terrible so here it is! New Year New Me and all that


	20. Chapter 20

Liam's P.O.V

 

Winter came harsh and quick, the leaves withering from the trees gradually, marking the passing of time at an agonising pace. The joy of snow was short lived as the excitement of snowball fights, snowmen and days off school were replaced by ice cold fingers and numb, soggy toes, an overall feeling of misery settling over Beacon Hills by the time New Years came around. 

Liam had enjoyed his Christmas break, it gave him time to focus on things he had been neglecting as his priorities had drifted. School plagued his mind everyday, while he got by with being tutored until he was accepted into another school, the isolation drove him crazy. 

But during the holidays when his parents were home and they could really be together, it was easier to let his worries fade to the deeper recesses of his mind, where they could stay undisturbed for the time being. 

But Liam couldn't help but feel that something was missing, of course there was. During a time that celebrates family and togetherness, the person who held a permanent piece of Liam was absent from the festivities. 

He had considered calling Brett, just to check on how he was, how school was, or lacrosse. He wanted to hear his voice. He wanted to know if perhaps his life has faded back into normalcy. He hoped so. He hoped that he wasn't plagued by everything that happened the way Liam was, and that maybe he was happy.

But honestly, Liam missed him. They had been so close, despite all the complications of their relationship, they were friends. Brett had been Liams only true friend. It was only after he was gone from his life that Liam realised much Brett filled his world. At the time it never seemed like they were spending such a huge amount of time together, there was no way he could have known how much Brett had contributed to his day to day life. He missed greeting him in the mornings, or catching up at lunch. He missed the excitement he felt in his gut whenever he knew they had training later that day. He missed Bretts fleeting smiles that were only ever cast in Liam's direction in the hallways. He even missed the way Brett would fill his room, his presence overwhelming within the cramped space, but Liam had thrived off it. He loved seeing Brett in his bed lazily typing on his phone, his feet always dangling off the too-small mattress. He loved the way he would be left buzzing with Bretts energy long after he had left. 

Liam told himself it was only because of the markings. He tried to convince himself that if they weren't soulmates then things would be different, and Brett wouldn't have had such a tremendous impact on him. That was the only explanation, the only justification of how he was feeling. It brought Liam little comfort, though it made things easier when he could blame all these feelings on something completely out of his control. 

Liam picked up his phone and spun it in his fingers, a nervous habit he had developed not long after things went bad with Brett. He always told himself that he would call him, or text him or even email him! He would work himself into a nervous panic over it, pacing, his footsteps falling in tune with his quick heartbeat. He'd gotten as far as scrolling to Bretts name in his contacts, but after staring at the 5 little letters for nearing 2 minutes, he resigned to locking his phone and resuming his pace. It was a pathetic routine at this point, and by God had Liam cursed Bretts name a thousand times by now for making him feel this way. Though he always knew there was no one to blame, no matter how much better he would feel being able to assign faults to anyone but himself. 

But maybe tonight was it. Things were looking positive with a new school just a few miles away, his grades were improving with his tutor, he'd managed to keep his training going despite the frosty weather and the lack of an actual team. But things were at steady plateau at the moment, a fine balance in the universe coming after a time of utter catastrophe in Liam's life, things were evening out. Things were improving for him and just maybe now was the time gain some closure on what had happened. To finally settle things with Brett so that hopefully they could both move on in piece. Even though ever fibre in his body screamed at the idea of losing Brett indefinitely, facing his biggest fear of living along, having lost his soulmate once and for all. 

Liam looked at his phone, still clutched in his fist. Though it was the easier option, something didn't sit well with Liam, the idea of having this final conversation over the phone, no face to put to the words, no clear indication of expression or emotional response. Nothing but a disembodied voice that could be Brett, but how could he be sure? That's not what Liam wanted to remember. With a sudden burst of energy Liam lunged towards his door and was running down the stairs and out of the house without so much as a goodbye to his mother. It was cold out, too cold to be walking with just a hoodie, and Liam had several moments of regret as he continued to push himself down the street.

Bretts house wasn't far, by car, but walking added at least another 15 minutes to the journey. But Liam hadn't trusted himself to drive, with a nervous energy humming through his body and a will Liam wasn't entirely sure he was in control of. The walk would do him good, the crisp air clearing his head, but not so much that he could truly convince himself to ever turn back, despite his mind telling him to do so. Each step made his heart beat that bit faster, and his stomach clench that bit tighter as the anticipation of what was to happen settled over him like a cloud. This would not be a happy visit, it would not be comfortable and it would not be romantic. This was a conclusion to a long and painful journey that had driven both Liam and Brett mad. This was the last conversation in which any word previously unspoken would be said aloud. 

Arriving at Bretts house was unusual. It was a house like any other on this street, Liam had drove past it many times. But now there was an instant calm that washed over Liam. As if the serenity that Brett carried with enveloped his home. Liam felt his muscles relax as he took the final steps towards the front door. The weight he had been carrying for so long had lifted. Liam brought his closed fist to the white wood of the door and gave four solid knocks, and waited.


End file.
